Africa: Memfys Hospital and GE Healthcare Collaborate to Improve Disease Diagnosis for Nigeria’s South-East Regions

Memfys is the first hospital in South-East Nigeria to install GE Healthcare’s SIGNA™ Explorer 1.5Tesla MRI system

LAGOS, Nigeria, August 29, 2019/ — The collaboration will help provide innovative technology to enable early diagnosis and detection of diseases; Memfys is the first hospital in South-East Nigeria to install GE Healthcare’s (www.GEHealthcare.com) SIGNA™ Explorer 1.5Tesla MRI system.

GE Healthcare has partnered with Memfys Hospital to provide the SIGNA™ Explorer 1.5Tesla MRI system services and training to advance early diagnosis of diseases. By providing clinicians with detailed information about diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders and heart diseases, the new equipment will help the hospital to deliver high quality medical services and better care to more patients across the region.

As the only dedicated Neurosurgery hospital in South-East Nigeria, Memfys Hospital is serving a population of over 60 Million People. Investing in the latest technologies such as the SIGNA™ Explorer 1.5Tesla MRI system will help improve the hospital’s diagnostic capabilities for early detection of diseases and at the same time keep up with global best practices to provide the very best for the country and West Africa region at large.

“As a leader in the neurosurgical space, we are committed to continue providing high quality patient care using modern, high tech and reliable equipment that meets the recommendation by the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS). Acquisition of the SIGNA™ Explorer is a huge milestone towards this commitment,” said Professor Samuel C. Ohaegbulam, CEO Global Memfys & Co Ltd. 

To ensure sustainability of such investments, Memfys hospital is providing training for both young and experienced doctors embarking on a career in Neurosurgery and Spinal surgery. The hospital is accredited by the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) for full training in neurosurgery making it the only private health institution to enjoy this status in all of Africa. To date, Memfys has trained 20 neurosurgeons and about 10 senior residents.

“We are committed to continue collaborating with both private and public partners to co-create solutions that help tackle pressing healthcare challenges for our region such as Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), as we strive towards Universal Health Coverage. With the SIGNA™ Explorer 1.5Tesla MRI system, the people of South-East Nigeria will not need to leave the region for such specialized services as it has been the practice in the past,” said Eyong Ebai, General Manager for West & Central and French Sub-Sahara Africa Region.

According to WHO’s 2018 report, NCDS including stroke, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases  and diabetes are estimated to account for 71% of the 57 million global deaths, while in Nigeria NCDs are estimated to account for 29% of all deaths (2.1M). Early diagnosis of diseases such as cancer improves outcomes by providing care at the earliest possible stage.